Winging It

VFTD has reached a new low. I tweeted--damn, does that sound pathetic--about this post before I wrote it. And that was some hours ago as the %$#&*%@# computer did it again. A seemingly benign file--at least according to the three dozen security programs I'm now running--was planted in the start-up and when I tried to disable it, it initiated the rogues and hijackers all over. Again. Here's hoping this time it's finally really gone 'cus I'm sure y'all are nearly as tired of this as I am. (But it's cathartic for me to help you feel my pain.)

Anyway, the title of this post is not a Billy Wing reference (although I will be securing trademark rights in a matter of minutes.) It's actually a reference to that most common of so-called poor techniques, the chicken wing, in which the player's supporting arm (hand on foregrip commonly) is elevated perpendicular to his/her body with the elbow pointing outward. (Take a breath.) And frequently flapping like a chicken wing when attempting to run & gun. Last time I visited the topic of running & gunning I left off with some drills here. (Was it really that long ago? I could'a missed a post. Or two.) For even more on running & gunning look here.

Let's talk technique. Everybody makes fun of the chicken wing. Almost as many as do it. I'm not a stickler for forcing proper technique on my guys when their technique diverges but that's only because they've already proved they have the skill set required even when their technique isn't ideal. But just because you see some pro doing things wrong it is not a free pass for you to do the same--or insist on doing wrong whatever it is you're doing wrong. Bad habits and bad technique are bad because they aren't efficient or effective for most players. That is the attitude that will see most of y'all getting old and gray in D3.
If you can run & shoot effectively while chicken winging you're done here--but--you know, and I know, you can't hardly hit the broad side of a barn from the inside standing still. The funny thing is it isn't necessarily the "wing" that's limiting your effectiveness. It ain't helping but if it was as simple as knocking off the chicken winging everybody could be a hero. My real problem is you can't wing it while playing a bunker. (Or if you do you're preparing for a future as a rec baller.) And that means you're switching between techniques to accomplish the same thing and you will not, let me repeat that, will not execute either one of them with the same effectiveness as if you practiced a consistent technique. (Not rocket science but it appears to be eluding more than a few of y'all.) And without lots of practice and a consistent technique you will not be an effective runner & gunner. Period.

Now go back and read those old posts and next time I'll talk about ways to make your running & gunning more effective.